Some things should stay in the locker room.
In an awkward interview with 94 WIP in Philadelphia with Spike Eskin, Ike Reese, and Jack Fritz, ex-Giants and Eagles punter Sean Landeta was asked a bizarre question about whether he was shaving down low in front of his teammates in the sauna.
The locker room situation was revealed in a previous interview on the station with former Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell, who was drafted in 2001 and was teammates with Landeta in Philadelphia during his first two seasons in the NFL.
The radio hosts decided to reach out to the now 63-year-old former punter to ask whether it was true.
It did not go well.
“Freddie Mitchell was on the morning show today, and he mentioned that you and Jon Ritchie were often in the sauna together, but Mitchell mentioned — how do I put this — that you would groom, uh, your under regions in the sauna,” Eskin said to Landeta on the show.
“You want to call me during prime-time radio in Philadelphia and talk to me about something like that,” Landeta said with his tone becoming increasingly angry. “Are you kidding me? I know this is TMZ Radio and I like Freddie, you know good teammate and all. but what he said was absolutely false. I totally deny being in the sauna with Jon Ritchie. That never happened.
“Now, may there have been a time where I was by myself and maybe had to shave a little bit? Ok, maybe that’s something that goes on privately in a locker room, and there is a saying that in the NFL that’s supposed to go, ‘What you see here or what you say here stays here and never leaves here.’
“Obviously, Mr. Freddie must’ve wanted to get some people to go ‘Oh, wow’ … but I’m disappointed in Mr. Mitchell. I’m going to have to speak to him about that.”
Landeta further called out the radio hosts for the gotcha moment.
“One guy embarrᴀssing another guy,” Landeta said.
One of the hosts denied the accusation and said, “They were just having some fun.”
The exchange concluded with Landeta saying that they are in the business for good ratings.
“I understand what I’m dealing with. I would think with the Eagles having a playoff game coming up they wouldn’t be talking about guys in saunas,” Landeta said.
Mitchell is best known for catching a fourth-and-26 pᴀss from Donovan McNabb to save their 2003 season and defeat the Packers in the playoffs and grant them an NFC Championship game berth.
Landeta played in the NFL for 22 seasons, including nine with the Giants, where he helped them win two Super Bowls.
He retired from the NFL in 2005 after a Super Bowl appearance with the Eagles when he was 43.
